lathrop



(No Model.) 2 Sheets- Sheet 1.

L. B. LATHROP.

HAY PRESS.

No. 249,640. 1 Patented Nov. 15,1881.

yg- J.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

L. B. LATHROP.

HAY PRESS.

No. 249,640. Patented Nov. 15,1881.

PATENT FFICEQ LEVI B. LATHROP, OF HOLLISTER, CALIFORNIA.

HAY-PRESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 249,640, dated November15, 1881.

Application filed June 14, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEVI B. LATHROP, of Hollister, county of San Benito,State of California, have invented an Improved Hay-Press; and I herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof.

My invention relates to the class of haypresses, and more especially tocertain improvements therein based upon aformer in vention of minesecured to me by Letters Patent of the United States No. 225,396, datedMarch 9, 1880; and myinvention consistsin certain details ofconstruction,as hereinafter described, and specifically claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are perspectiveviews of my hay-press. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section. Fig. 4 is atransverse section. Figs. 5 and 6 are details of construction.

The press is designed to be permanently placed upon a four-wheeledwagon, and when in use the wheels are locked, or the wagon is otherwisestaked to the ground, so that it is immovable.

The body of the press, A, is made of boiler and an gleiron braced andbolted appropriately. This body is attached to a frame-work, B, the rearend of which has the upright standards D.

F represents the follower within the press, adapted to move forward andback in the manner described in my former patent. end ofthe follower Fis suitably connected by a hinge or pivot with a knee-lever ortogglejointed bar, L, the shorter and rear arm of which is hinged orpivoted on the top of the standard D. The two arms of this lever arepivoted together below, so that when raised in assuming a horizontalposition the follower will be pushed forward, and when depressed it willbe drawn back, herein reversing the position and application of thetoggle-lever in my former invention. This toggle-lever -L is made veryheavy, consisting, preferably, of two bars of iron filled in with woodand bolted through, thereby gaining weight and strength, and operatingevenly upon the follower, both strips of iron properly making one solidtoggle-lever.

Orepresents a shaft properly journaled upon the frame B. It has securedto it a double conical pulley, E, said pulley having its base orgreatest periphery at the center and its The rear apex toward the sides.One end of the shaft carries the heavy operating wheel Gr, said wheelhaving a grooved face to receive a rope,

H, whereby the wheel and shaft may be revolved.

I I represent chains, the ends of which are fastened to the bases of thedouble conical pulley E, and the other ends are secured to the joint orpivot line of the toggle-lever L. Now, if the toggle-lever L be down,its long arm will be inclined from the follower, which is in the rearofthe press, to the rear of the frame B, and its short arm will beperpendicular, or nearly so. If, then, power be applied to the end ofthe rope H, the wheel G will revolve and wind up the chains I I on theconical pulley E and raise the toggle lever to a horizontal position,which will push the follower forward. The effect of the conical pulley Eis well known, giving the same result as has been set forth in otherinventions-to wit, driving the follower rapidly at the beginning of thestroke. When the follower has been driven home the toggleleverL will bein a horizontal position, and in order to sustain it I have thefollowing device:

J is a lever on the outside of the frame B, pivoted thereto. It isattached to a rod, a, which passes through theframe and is attached toa. spring, h, bolted on the inside of the frame. When the toggle ascendsit pushes the spring back, and when just above it springs forward andsupports it. Now, when I release the spring h, the weight of thetoggle-lever will cause it to descend, and thus draw the follower back.While this is the principle of the operation, I have found byexperiments that some regulation of this is necessary. The weight of thetoggle, when released, causes the wheel G to revolve too rapidly, and indoing this wastes its own power, so that it has not enough left to drawthe follower entirely back. To regulate this I attach a strap, belt,rope, or chain, K, to the rear end of the follower and attach its otherend to one side of the pulleyE at its apex. The base of the conicalpulley E is provided with a rcarwardly-extending piece of iron, M, Icall a hammer or stop.

N is a brace bolted to the short arm of the toggle-lever, and has itsupper end slotted, and bolted in this slot is the arm 0, the rear end ofwhich is pivoted or journaled upon the same shaft upon the top of thestandard D, to which the end of the short arni of the toggle-lever isjournaled. When the toggle-lever is released its weight must firstovercome and set in motion the heavy wheel G, which thus partiallycounteracts the toggle. When the wheel has received momentum thetoggle-lever will have descended very nearly to its limit and have onlya small distance to fall, and its weight in this small distance wouldnot be sufficient to return the follower completely; but the large wheelGr, having acquired momentum, is more than competent to do the work, sothat some check must be placed upon it. This is the effect of theconnecting-strap K. This strap, during 1118 descent of the toggle, windsupon the pulley E, and when the toggle ceases to draw the follower therevolving wheel G finds resistance in the follower and has to draw it bymeans of the strap K. This serves to check its momentum, though notsufficiently to prevent its complete return. As the toggle descends thebrace N descends and inclines forward, carrying with it the arm 0, andwhen the toggle has reached its limit the end of the arm 0 projectsforward so far that the pulley E, in its next revolution, will strikeits stop or hammerM against it, and thus gradually stopsthewheelGandthewholeoperation. Byproper adjustment this effect isproduced when the follower has nearly reached the completion of itsreturn-stroke. This device relieves the strap K of the strain. Thus theweight and power of the toggle are modified to produce the result ofreturning the. follower without jar or injury, and for this purpose Iregard the connecting-strap K or its equivalent as necessary.

In connection with the wheel Gr, I have applied a braking device, toprevent the said wheel from running too fast when thrown back by thespring of the bale.

P is a lever on top of the press, having its fulcrum on the side nearestthe wheel G. The end of this lever passes a little beyond the side ofthe press and receives a vertical rod, 1), which extends below to a linewith the under side of the wheel G. To its end is attached the brake-barQ, which passes horizontally under the wheel and has its other endhinged to the press-frame, so that when the lever P is pressed down itraises ,the brake-bar against the wheel G. This brake-bar is so placedas to press upon only one flange of the wheel and does not interferewith the rope.

I have here described the connecting-strap K as being wound upon thesmaller circumference of the pulley E. When this is done, in order tomake it wind as fast as the chain is unwound, I place blocks 0 upon thestrap,the effect of which is to practicallyincrease for the time beingthe circumference of the pulley. This particular construction is amatter of adjustment. I need not wind the strap upon the pulley E,butmay have a separate pulley upon the same shaft of the requiredcircumference. Nor is it necessary that I use a conical pulley, for Icould use an ordinary pulley, though at the loss of the known advantageof such conical pulleys. The main principle is the connecting-strap forthe purpose described, and it makes no difference to what kind ofpulleyit is attached, provided that it be properly adjusted.

The discharge-door R of the press is on the front end. The hinge isrounded at the corner, so that the point of motion is at the inner edgeof the door. Extending across the door, on the inside, are iron straps,turned at their ends at right angles, so as to form hooks or clamps,which close by or over the slotted ends or tongues of the sides of thepress, all of which I have shown in my former patent.Myimprovementherein is in the manner of securing the door.

To the tongues of the sides of the press are fastened heavy steelsprings S, extending from the rear to the front end of the bale-chamber,their forward ends being loose to permit the spring.

To the loose ends of the springs S are attached hooks T, against whichthe door, in closing, presses, and which spring back over the ends ofthe hinge-bars on the door, as shown. To prevent these hooks fromslipping off the door when pressed outward I have the curved hooks U,one below the upper hook and the other above the lower hook,T. These twocurved hooks are securely and rigidly attached to an upright rod, V, theends of which pass through the curved hooks and are pivoted or journaledin the hooks T. The upper curved hook, U, is attached to or is a part ofa springlever,W, which passes through a slot, g,in the end of the uppermain hook, T. A notch, i,in the inner end of this slot holds theleverWin place when pushed up. The ends of the hingebars on the doorhave small notches or recesses d, which receive and hold the points ofthe curved hooks U.

The operation of this device is as follows:

When the door R is closin git presses back the spring-hooks T, and, whenshut, the hooks T spring back and fit their hooks or shoulders over theends of the hinge-bars on the door; but in order to further secure andprevent the pressure from causing the doors to slip by the hooks T, Iturn the lever W inward, thus turning the curved hooks U until theirpoints fit into the notches d on the end of the hingebars. The spring ofthe lever W will cause it to fit up into the notch i, and thus the wholedevice is held securely. To open the door a very slight force upon thelever W will release it, and in drawing it back the curved hooks U bearagainst the sides of the press as a fulcrum and draw the hooks T back,so that the door may be opened. Thus, by simply pushing the door to, allthe hooks spring into position and the door locks itself. To the outsideof the door is secureda curved spring, X, which, when the door is thrownopen violently by the pressure of the hay, comes in contact with theside of the press, and thus saves the door.

. Upon the side of the body of the press are the feeding-doors Y,swingingto meet at the center. These doors are hung upon hingesconsisting of knuckles 19 upon the doors and sides of the press, throughwhich passes a pin, 1', thus forming a close hinge, and leaving no crackwhere the door opens.

Below the edges of the doors is a table, Z, upon which they fit closely,and to one door is attached a cross-bar, m, which passes over the otherdoor when closed,'and is hooked appropriately.

I am aware that there is nothing newin the principle of close hinges orof doors closing to the center; but the application to a hay-pressaccomplishes an object which is of great importance.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is- 4 1. In a hay-press having a follower, Itoggle-lever L, and actuating-wheel G, the hand, strap, rope, or chainK, one end of which is secured to the rear of thefollower and the otherto the shaft of the actuating-wheel G, whereby said follower and wheelare connected, or an equivalent device, substantially as and for thepurpose herein described.

2. In a hay-press, the combination of the follower F, toggle-lever L,pulley E, strap or band K, and wheel G, substantially as hereindescribed.

3. In a hay -press, the combination of the follower F, togglelever L,strap or band K, wheel G, pulley E, stop or hammer M, brace N, and arm0, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

4. The combination of the toggle lever L, spring IL, and lever J,substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

5. The device for securing the dischargedoor of a hay-press, consistingof the springho'ok T, with the slotg and notch 1', curved hooks U, andconnecting bar V, said curved hooks being adapted to fit the recesses 61and the lever W, substantially as herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

LEVI B. LATHROP.

Witnesses:

FRANK A. BROOKS, JOSEPH A. BAYLESS.

